Teen Poetry Workshops

Poets House is temporarily closed to the public. We look forward to seeing you once we reopen!

Our teen poetry workshops are opportunities for writers in high school to create and explore poetry in one of the largest poetry libraries in the country. Young poets are given a chance to delve into the art and craft of poetry in a fun, creative, and inspiring environment. Workshops for teens at Poets House reinforce a sense of joyful experimentation with language and its creative possibilities, help to develop each student’s voice and—as an added benefit—strengthen basic linguistic and scholastic skills.

Online Video Workshops

Join Dave Johnson to write daily new poems in only 10 minutes. Click the banners below for two series of video poetry workshops where poet, play-write and educator Dave Johnson chooses a poet each day, and takes us thru a close reading of their work. He gives us a prompt based on their work, then a short biography and reads an additional poem. These workshops are fun and surprising, for teens thru adults, free.

Bring a Poet to Your Class

The capstone of our teen poetry workshop program is the Thompson Foundation initiative, through which noted poets visit high school classrooms followed by free follow-up class visits to Poets House. Recent teachers have included Dave Johnson, Jive Poetic, and Mahogany Browne. This initiative is meant to increase access to poetic education for underserved schools and students by combining hands-on instruction from established poets with on-site visits to our extensive library. Students engage with poetry through reading, writing, and art projects that straddle the visual and linguistic.

If you are a teacher interested in this program, please reach out to Reggie Harris to arrange sessions for your class. Free class trips for all age levels are also available outside of this program.

Intensive Workshops for Teens

Advanced, individualized study is available periodically for students who want to continue writing poetry, through both our day-long and week-long intensive workshops.

• One-day workshops: Participation is free. All interested teens are encouraged to sign up.
• Weeklong workshops: Participants are determined through an application process and an external judge; all interested high school students are encouraged to apply. Financial aid is available.